Judge rejects appeal to jail Chief Keef over address flap

South Side rapper said to be working at studio in Northbrook home

A Cook County judge ruled Wednesday that South Side rapper Chief Keef could remain free despite new allegations that he violated his juvenile probation by moving to Northbrook without telling authorities.

Prosecutors asked Juvenile Court Judge Carl Anthony Walker to have the 17-year-old locked up pending a full hearing this month. But Walker said he had not been shown "any credible evidence" that the teen, whose real name is Keith Cozart, should be jailed.

In addition to failing to notify authorities of his change in address, Cozart had not reported to probation officials since his debut album, "Finally Rich," went on sale Dec. 18, prosecutors said.

When officials went to the Dolton home where Cozart was supposed to be living with his grandmother, he was not there, Assistant State's Attorney Jullian Brevard said. Citing a Northbrook police report, the prosecutor said officers aware of Cozart's presence in the suburb had gone to the home and talked to the teen, who said he was living there with his uncle.

Prosecutors did not detail the report further. Calls by the Tribune to Northbrook police Wednesday were not returned.

Cozart's attorney, Dennis Berkson, called the allegations "ridiculous." He said the rapper was spending a lot of time recording songs in a Northbrook home where his uncle and manager have set up a studio so he could be free of distractions and attention.

"That's where he's working. That is his career," Berkson said in court. "They're acting (like) what he's been doing is surreptitious or wrong or illegal."

Outside court, the teen's grandmother, Margaret Carter, accused authorities of harassing Cozart because of all the attention he's been getting with his music.

"It's terrible what they're doing to him, and I'm sick and tired of it," she said.

On his way out of the Near West Side courthouse, Cozart, clad in a dark brown coat with a fur-lined hood and tan jeans, held his arms in the air and exclaimed, "Why they got a problem with my address?"

Less than two hours later, Cozart tweeted a photo of a Northbrook mansion with the tag line "NewCrib." When a Tribune reporter knocked on the door of the home later in the day, the couple who live there said they did not know Cozart.

Reached by phone Wednesday night, Cozart's uncle, Alonzo Carter, said the teen tweeted the photo as a joke and to stir things up on social media.

The allegations were the latest legal issue for Cozart, who is on probation after a juvenile conviction for pointing a gun at a police officer. Prosecutors have alleged that he violated his probation by taking part in a video interview at a gun range in New York during which he reportedly is shown holding a rifle.

Chicago police have been looking into whether Chief Keef and his allies played a role in the September slaying of aspiring rapper Lil Jojo.

The slaying garnered national attention after Chief Keef sent a taunting tweet about the slain 18-year-old, whose real name was Joseph Coleman, hours after the killing. Chief Keef received mostly negative feedback from his more than 200,000 Twitter followers before he claimed his account had been hacked.

Cozart is due back in juvenile court Jan. 28 on the probation violation allegations.